Lewis Hamilton is ‘the differentiator,’ says Mercedes boss Toto Wolff

The 33-year-old has showcased his talent throughout the year, pushing himself and the Mercedes car to the limit to win a fifth world championship.

Hamilton’s unlikely victories in Monza and Singapore — two tracks the faster Ferraris should have dominated at — were the standout performances in arguably his best ever season in Formula One.

The lap that earned him pole at Singapore, Marina Bay, in particular, is arguably up there with the best drives of his entire career.

“This is the best Lewis Hamilton I have seen in the last six years,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told Formula1.com. “He has driven better, he has been better out of the car. Very, very complete.”

With the Briton’s fifth title — just the third man to ever achieve the feat — 2018 only served to emphasize the gulf in class between Hamilton and the rest of the field.

“[His biggest strength is] keeping his calm and holding his nerve,” added Wolff. “We had times when the car was good enough to win and times when the car was not good enough to win. But he was very stable.

It’s arguable that Hamilton’s previous title wins had a lot to do with Mercedes producing the best car on the grid.

But that wasn’t the case for much of 2018 with rivals Ferrari boasting the superior machine.

“It’s the ability of combining talent with hard work, intellect and emotional intelligence,” he said. “All great champions have all four of them.